Your father's will determines who gets what. Your sister's POA ends at death and has nothing to do with the distribution of his assets. If he has no will, the courts will distribute the assets according to state law.
I am uncertain what you mean by "took over everything". You say your Dad has dementia. A demented person cannot make someone POA. Did he do this before he got dementia? Or did he have SOME dementia, but was still capable of understanding, when examined by a lawyer, what he wanted to do in assigning someone to act for him? That is to say did he give POA to your Sister when he had mental capability to act, as this is something that can only be done when a Senior is mentally capable. The sister, if appointed to this position when your Dad was well, is now to act in his best interest and to do things as she understood he would want them done, and to keep careful records of assets and expenditures. She is not accountable to you to give explanations, but if you suspect financial abuse, you are free to go to APS and ask them to open a case to investigate elder abuse. As to what happens when your father dies, that would depend on whether or not he had a will done. If he has a will, then his executor (who may or may not be the POA you mention) will register the will in probate and distribute the assets. If there is no will, or the person is no longer mentally capable of making a will then someone will be appointed by the courts (family in most cases, often next of kin or person most capable of serving in this capacity). The Estate without a will is distributed according to the laws of the state involves. The person is considered to have died "intestate." The court assists in having assets distrubuted according to the laws of the state, and the order of relationship dictated by law. Hope someone has a way to put this in a more simple explanation.
AlvaDeer, whether or not a person with dementia can create or change a POA depends upon the honestly of the lawyer, in my experience and observation.
In the early 2000s, a family member had one of my relatives change her POA over to her, just 3 months prior to her death from dementia complications. She was clearly not competent. The family member added her name to all the assets she could find, and "cleaned up" after her death.
This also happened with another relative just 2 years ago. Both were at the point of the disease where the dementia was VERY obvious.
With unscrupulous people, a POA can be a license to steal.
We can’t possible answer this. It depends on multiple factors-does he have a trust & how is it written? Does he have a will? Do any of his accounts (bank account, pension, IRA) have beneficiaries? If there is no will, then anything without a beneficiary will pass through intestate law so if he has a spouse, they would be entitled to a portion of it and so would his children.
The sister, if appointed to this position when your Dad was well, is now to act in his best interest and to do things as she understood he would want them done, and to keep careful records of assets and expenditures. She is not accountable to you to give explanations, but if you suspect financial abuse, you are free to go to APS and ask them to open a case to investigate elder abuse.
As to what happens when your father dies, that would depend on whether or not he had a will done. If he has a will, then his executor (who may or may not be the POA you mention) will register the will in probate and distribute the assets. If there is no will, or the person is no longer mentally capable of making a will then someone will be appointed by the courts (family in most cases, often next of kin or person most capable of serving in this capacity). The Estate without a will is distributed according to the laws of the state involves. The person is considered to have died "intestate." The court assists in having assets distrubuted according to the laws of the state, and the order of relationship dictated by law.
Hope someone has a way to put this in a more simple explanation.
In the early 2000s, a family member had one of my relatives change her POA over to her, just 3 months prior to her death from dementia complications. She was clearly not competent. The family member added her name to all the assets she could find, and "cleaned up" after her death.
This also happened with another relative just 2 years ago. Both were at the point of the disease where the dementia was VERY obvious.
With unscrupulous people, a POA can be a license to steal.